Strand advancing apparatus



.March 17, 1970 M. c. LONG 3,501,102

STRAND ADVANCING APPARATUS Filed April 24, 1968 INVENTOR F KG. 6 v ap W LONG ATTORNEYS United States Patent i 3,501,102 STRAND ADVANCING APPARATUS Malcolm C. Long, Warwick, R.I., assignor to Leesona Corporation, Warwick, R.I., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Apr. 24, 1968, Ser. No. 723,776 Int. Cl. B65h 51/08 U.S. Cl. 24247.09 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Strand is advanced around a driven roll and a separator roll and also between the driven roll and a pinch roll. Movement of the rolls is provided forbetween an operating position in which the driven roll is coupled with a drive member, a threading position in which the 'rolls are conveniently positioned for threading with the pinch roll out of engagement with the driven roll, and an idle position as near to the operating position as is practical, for starting the advance of the yarn to a takeup with the pinch roll out of engagement with the driven roll. During movement between these positions the pinch roll is automatically cammed to its proper position.

This invention relates to textile apparatus and, more particularly, to such apparatus for handling a strand of yarn.

In the following specification and claims the term yarn is employed in a general sense to apply to all kinds of strand materials, either textile or otherwise.

For reasons which are well understood in the textile machinery field, it is often desirable to use a driven roll in conjunction with a pinch roll. It is often difficult to thread-up such apparatus in its operative position with the pinch roll engaging the driven roll and therefore these rolls are often mounted so that they may be positioned to facilitate thread-up. However, after thread-up it is necessary either to start the yarn advancing by first attaching it to its take-up and then starting the take-up, or to start the yarn advancing with an aspirator and then transferring the yarn to the operating take-up. The use of an aspirator increases the cost of equipment and operation so that it is more desirable to rely on starting the take-up after the yarn is attached thereto. This latter expedient necessitates the pinch roll being out of engagement with the driven roll when the yarn is started to advance by the take-up. A further difficulty is that the rolls should be as close as possible to their normal operating position when the take-up is started and this often makes threading difircult because of inaccessibility of the rolls in their operating position.

The invention, in brief, is directed to strand handling apparatus including a driven roll and a cooperating pinch roll mounted on a body which is in turn mounted on a base for movement of the rolls between an operative position in which the driven roll is driven and the pinch roll is in engagement with the driven roll, a threading position in which the pinch roll is out of engagement with the driven roll and the rolls are positioned for convenient thread-up, and an idle position as close to the operative position as possible so that the yarn path is as close as possible to its normal operative path but with the pinch roll still out of engagement with the driven roll. The pinch roll is mounted for automatic movement relative to the driven roll as the body is moved between its various positions.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide new and improved strand handling apparatus.

Another object is to provide new and improved apparatus for handlng an advancing strand of yarn and for facilitating thread-up of the apparatus for advance of the yarn.

Still another object is provision of new and improved strand handling apparatus including a base, a body mounted on the base for movement between operative and inoperative positions, a first roll operatively mounted on the body, a pinch roll mounted on the body for movement between a position in operative engagement with the first roll and an inoperative position released from operative engagement with the first roll, and provision for automatically moving the pinch roll between its positions responsive to movement of the body between its positions. A related object is provision in such apparatus wherein the inoperative position includes a threading position in which the rolls are conveniently positioned for thread-up and an idle position as close as possible to the operative position.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary left side view of a preferred embodiment of the invention in its operative position, with parts broken away and removed for clearer illustration;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary right side view of the apparatus in the operative position, with parts broken away and removed for clearer illustration;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary front view of the apparatus in the operative position, with additional parts broken away and removed for simplicity of illustration;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top view of the apparatus in the operative position, with parts broken away and removed for clearer illustration;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are fragmentary front and top views, respectively, of the apparatus in its threading position; and

FIGS. 7 and 8 are fragmentary front and top views, respectively, of the apparatus in its idle position.

Referring to the drawings, strand handling apparatus 10 includes a body 12 mounted between opposite ears .14 of a base 16 for swinging movement around a body shaft 18 journalled in the body 12 and fixedly secured to the opposite cars 14 of the base 16. The base 16 is fixedly secured to a mounting plate 20.

FIGS. 1-4 show a strand of yarn Y advancing (in the direction of the arrows 22) through the strand handling apparatus 10 and, more particularly, through a guide 24 of a mounting bracket 26 fixed on the body 12 with the yarn then making three passes between a first or driven roll 28 and a pinch roll 30 and about a separator roll 32 having an axis slightly askew relative to the axis of the driven roll, from which the yarn Y makes two additional passes around the driven roll 28 and the separator roll 32 before passing from the apparatus to a take-up mechanism (not shown). The axes of the driven and pinch rolls are generally parallel and generally normal to the axis of the body shaft 18.

In the operative position illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, a driven gear 34 (FIGS. 2, 4, 6 and 8) integral with the driven roll is drivingly coupled with a drive gear 36 extending through aslot in the mounting member 20. These gears are held in engagement by means of a spiral compression and torsion spring 38 (FIG. 2) received about the body shaft 18 and within a socket 40 of the body 12 with one end '42 of the spring extending into an aperture in the body 12 at the base of the socket 40, and the other end 44 of the spring interlocked with an adjacent leg 14 of the base 16.

The pinch roll 30 is provided with mounting means and, more particularly, is mounted on a bracket 46 which in turn is suitably secured for universal movement on an actuating shaft 48 journalled in the mounting bracket 26,

generally as shown in Leesona Corporation Patent U.S. 3,372,848, granted Mar. 12, 1968. The axis of the actuating shaft is generally normal to the axis of the body shaft 18. An end of the actuating shaft 48 opposite the bracket 46 has fixed thereto an L-shaped cam lever 50 and a spiral torsion spring 52 having one end 54 fixed in a slot in the adjacent end of the actuating shaft and an opposite end 56 interlocked with the body 12, to urge the pinch roll 30 toward the driven roll 28. A cooperating cam 58 is a fixed part of the base 16 and provides a beveled cam surface 60 which cooperates with an arcuate cam surface 62 of the cam lever 50, thereby providing operating means for moving the pinch roll between its positions responsive to movement of the body 12 between its positions.

In order to thread-up the apparatus, the body 12 is telescoped on the body shaft 18 against the force of the compression and torsion spring 38 and is then rotated 90 degrees and released to assume the position shown in FIGS. and 6, in which position a lug 64 (FIGS. 2 and 4) on the end of the body 12 opposite the spring 38 engages a cooperating lug 66 on the adjacent leg 14 of the base 16 to hold the apparatus in the threading position. As the body 12 is moved to the threading position, the cam surfaces 60 and 62 slide across one another and the actuating shaft 48 is pivoted to move the pinch roll 30 out of engagement with the driven roll 28. In this position, the driven roll 28 and the separator roll 32 face outwardly from the mounting member and the pinch roll is spaced a substantial distance from the driven roll 28 so that the yarn Y may easily be guided about the driven and separator rolls.

Once the apparatus is threaded, the body 12 is again telescoped on the body shaft 18 against the force of the spring 38 to release the interlocked lugs 64 and 66, whereupon the body 12 may be swung to an idle position as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, and is held in position by another lug 68 on the body 12 engaged with the lug 66 on the base 16. This position is as close as practical to the operating position and the yarn may now be attached to the take-up. With the take-up advancing the yarn Y across the driven roll 28 and the separator roll 32, the body 12 may again be telescoped on the body shaft 18 to release the interlocked lugs 64 and 68 and then swung into engagement with the driving gear 36 whereupon the pinch roll 30 automatically returns to operative engagement with the driven roll 28. It should be noted that in the idle position the pinch roll 30 is closer to the driven roll 28 than in the threading position, but it is still spaced from the driven roll.

While this invention has been described with reference to a particular embodiment in a particular environment, various changes may be apparent to one skilled in the art and the invention is therefore not to be limited to such embodiment or environment except as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Strand handling apparatus comprising a base, a body mounted on said base for movement between operative and inoperative positions, a first roll operatively mounted on said body, a pinch roll, means mounting said pinch roll for movement between a position in operative engagement with said first roll and an inoperative position released from said operative engagement with said first roll, and operating means for moving said pinch roll between its positions responsive to movement of said body between its positions.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said operating means comprises cooperating cam means on the mounting means and on said base for moving said pinch roll between said positions.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said operating means comprises resilient means for urging said pinch roll into its operative position.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said inoperative position of said pinch roll comprises a threading position and an idle position in which said pinch roll is spaced from said first roll.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which the mounting means comprises a shaft rotatably mounted on said body, a bracket, said pinch roll being mounted on said bracket, means attaching said bracket to said shaft for movement therewith to move said pinch roll between said pinch roll positions, and said operating means being operable to move said shaft and therewith said pinch roll between said pinch roll positions.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 in which said operating means comprises cooperating cam means on said shaft and on said base for moving said bracket and therewith said pinch roll between said positions of said pinch roll.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 in which said operating means comprises resilient means urging said pinch roll into said operative engagement with said first roll when said cam means positions said pinch roll in its operative position.

8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6 in which said inoperative position of said body comprises a threading position and an idle position, and said inoperative position of said pinch roll comprises a threading position and an idle position in which said pinch roll is spaced from said first roll.

9. Apparatus as set forth in claim 7 in which said body is mounted on said base for swinging movement about an axis, said shaft is generally normal to said axis, and said first roll and said pinch roll are mounted on respective axes generally parallel to the axis of said shaft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,381,643 8/ 1945 Bruenner 24247.09 X 2,915,805 12/1959 Heidweiller 24247.01 X 3,119,572 1/1964 Tata 24247.09 3,243,975 4/1966 Lawson et al. 24247.01 X

NATHAN 1.. MINTZ, Primary Examiner 

